A great article from John Sheridan of AIN online on the differing timetables and perspectives around ADS-B out in Europe vs. the U.S. Some excerpts:
At the Air Traffic Control Association’s annual November Convention in Washington, FAA director of surveillance and broadcast services Vincent Capezutto advised AIN that he expected that the final rule covering the mandated carriage of ADS-B out avionics will be published in April 2010. This is about 12 months later than the FAA had anticipated, but Capezutto believes that the original mandate date of Jan. 1, 2020, will most likely remain unchanged.
[.. It was] surprising to learn at the November Air Traffic Control Association Convention that legislators in the European Community intend to issue an NPRM for ADS-B out with a 2015 mandate. The guiding philosophy appears to be that since most European air traffic is composed of large airliners already equipped with mode-S “squitter” avionics, they will either already have the extended squitter capability required for ADS-B, or they can be modified to comply.
The proposed rule would mandate ADS-B out after 2012 for new airframes, and 2015 for retrofits. The EC’s proposal differs from the FAA’s in one key area: it will be limited to aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds and with cruise speeds of more than 250 knots.
There was also considerable skepticism about the exclusion of slower, lighter airplanes. As one put it, “ADS-B can be effective only if all aircraft are equipped,” while another pointed out that Europe has massive radar coverage and ADS-B out will not significantly improve the continent’s ATC capabilities. Furthermore, it appears that there is no plan to establish a continent-wide network of ADS-B ground stations, and those would be installed entirely at the discretion of individual European member nations.
